Apparatus for recording and/or playing back catalog information

ABSTRACT

A storage medium which stores catalog information and a catalog information recording and/or playback apparatus and method therefor. Using the method, catalog information including a still picture and additional information together with audio data are recorded on a storage medium such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), which is an optical record storage medium, and the catalog information is played back during playback of the audio data, to thereby provide various information on the audio data. Also, the apparatus includes a buffer memory for catalog playback which maintains a predetermined standard and compatibility, and is capable of real-time reading during playback of the audio data, and automatically plays back the catalog content, corresponding to the playback state of the audio data, when there is no additional selection of a user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/625,735, filed on Jul. 24, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,502,548, whichis a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/583,876, filedMay 31, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,455, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/263,816,filed Mar. 8, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,800, which claims thebenefit of Korean Application No. 98-7525, filed Mar. 6, 1998, in theKorean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a field of optical recording and/orplayback, and more particularly, to a storage medium storing audio dataand catalog information related to the audio data and an apparatus andmethod for recording and/or playing back catalog information.

2. Description of the Related Art

In an optical recording and/or playback apparatus in which a digitalversatile disk (DVD) is used as a storage medium, a catalog function,and an apparatus or method for performing the catalog function has notbeen proposed.

Here, the contents of the audio include the record contents, thecomposer, the artist and/or performer, etc. Particularly, the catalog isadditional data for illustrating the contents of the audio which is maindata recorded on the storage medium, including such additionalinformation as still pictures and captions as video information.

The catalog information which is played back in a playback apparatushaving a video decoder, preferably, has an inspecting function forreading the desired contents of the catalog, without interfering withthe playback of the audio.

It is also preferable that the catalog information can be easilymanufactured using an established editing system for DVD-Video.

In order to satisfy the above-described conditions, two types ofinformation, i.e., audio and catalog data, which perform differentfunctions in a storage medium must be simultaneously played back. Thus,even when the audio data is played back at the maximum transmissionspeed of the playback apparatus, a predetermined amount of the cataloginformation must have already been played back and stored in a temporarystorage, so that both the audio and the catalog contents can besimultaneously played back.

That is, when the storage medium, in which information for forming thecatalog is stored, is inserted into a driver, a player or an editor, thecatalog information stored in the storage medium is read and stored in atemporary storage, i.e., a memory, to be output in the form of an imageif necessary. Here, in order to store the catalog information read fromthe storage medium, in the memory, the image size must be defined, andfurther a method for effectively using the memory must be provided.

It is also preferable that navigation information, which has beenproposed in the DVD-Video, i.e., search information added to the cataloginformation such that a user can search an arbitrary catalog page, and aspecification for processing the search information be provided.Further, an editing system manufacturing a catalog corresponding to thespecification shares with an editing system according to the DVD-Videospecification.

Here, the DVD-Read Only Memory (ROM) is a record medium defined by thephysical specification of Part 1 of a DVD specification for a read-onlydisk produced by Toshiba Corporation and other companies (the DVD forum)in August, 1996 and the file system specification of Part 2 thereof.Also, the DVD-video means video edited by an image information recordingmethod defined by the video specification of Part 3 thereof or a DVD-ROMdisk in which the video is recorded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage medium forstoring catalog information to satisfy the above-described conditions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a playbackapparatus and method for reading desired catalog contents from cataloginformation related to audio data, while the audio data stored in a DVDdisk is played back.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a recordingapparatus and method for writing catalog information related to audiodata and catalog contents in a DVD disk.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically accessing the location of thecatalog using real-time playback information extracted from audio datato be played back without a command to read the catalog in apredetermined location, while audio data stored in a DVD disk is playedback.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inpart in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Accordingly, to achieve the above and other objects of the presentinvention, there is provided a storage medium randomly accessible andstoring audio data and catalog information which is related to the audiodata and stored in a predetermined region of the storage medium.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a catalog informationplayback apparatus includes storing means storing audio data and cataloginformation from the storage medium in which audio data, cataloginformation formed of information related to the audio data, and catalogplayback information connecting the audio data and the cataloginformation to each other during playback are stored, a video decoderproviding an image restored by decoding the catalog information andadditional information, an audio decoder providing audio signalsrestored by decoding the audio data, and a controller controllingplayback of catalog information corresponding to a selection of a userand the catalog playback information.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for playing backdata recorded on the storage medium storing audio data, cataloginformation related to the audio data, and catalog playback informationconnecting the audio data and the catalog information to each otherduring playback includes playing back the catalog informationcorresponding to the catalog playback information; and playing back theaudio data corresponding to the played back catalog information.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a method of recording dataon a storage medium, includes encoding audio data, catalog informationrelated to the audio data, and catalog playback information connectingthe audio data and the catalog information to each other duringplayback, and recording the encoded audio data, the encoded cataloginformation and the encoded catalog playback information on the storagemedium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objectives and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereofwith reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a digital versatile disk (DVD)-read only memory (ROM)structure of one dimension according to an example of a storage mediumstoring catalog information according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an example of a table showing catalog playback information forplaying back catalog information according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a playback apparatus for playing backcatalog information according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a recording/reproducing apparatus forimplementing the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now made in detail to the present preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the likeelements throughout. The embodiment is described below in order toexplain the present invention by referring to the figures.

Referring to FIG. 1, the storage space of an entire DVD medium (DVD-ROM)is a volume space 100, which includes a volume and file system region110 having information on the volume and recorded file structure, animage information region 120 for recording image data, an audio region130 for recording audio data and an other file region 140.

The above data regions may have no information in the image informationregion 120, and the catalog information related to each item of musicmay exist in a predetermined area of the audio region 130, and the otherfile region 140 may or may not exist.

Also, the image information region 120 and the audio region 130 mayinclude a catalog management (CMG) region 121 and an audio management(AMG) region 131 having management information on the recorded imagesand audio, respectively, and a catalog title set (CTS1) 122 and audiotitle sets (ATS) 132 to 134, which are files in which the image andaudio data are recorded. The CTS1 122 includes a plurality of programchains (CPGC) 125 to 128. Here, the CPGC indicates a set of relateddata. The CTS1 file for the catalog may have information on stillpictures formed of a plurality of catalogs and sub-pictures, andnavigation information for controlling the information on the stillpictures and the sub-pictures. As shown in FIG. 1, all image informationrelated to the audio region 130 is stored in the CTS1 122, so that theimage information region 120 may include only the CMG 121 and the CTS1122.

Here, the structure of the information on the still picture andsub-picture, and the navigation, and the rules thereof are shown in theDVD-video specification.

Also, the catalog information can be effectively used by dividing thecatalog information into one common catalog CPGC1 125 for the entireaudio region and a plurality of title catalogs CPGC2, CPGC3, . . . ,CPGCn+1 126, 127, 128 corresponding to each audio title recorded in theaudio region 130. That is, a first audio title set (ATS1), i.e., thetitle catalog related to a first item of music (such as a song) isstored in the CPGC2, and a second title set (ATS2), i.e., the titlecatalog related to a second item of music is stored in the CPGC3, andthus the nth audio title set (ATSn), i.e., the title catalog related tothe nth audio title set (ATSn) is stored in CPGCn+1. The common catalogand each title catalog are formed in a unit of a program chain (CPGC) inthe image title.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the catalogplayback information for connecting the CTS and ATS to each other forplayback is stored in the AMG region 131 or a predetermined region(information region) of the audio file. The AMG region 131 has a spacefor recording information on the entire audio region and each title, anda location of the catalog information may be additionally recorded onthe AMG region 131.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the catalog playbackinformation which is stored in the AMG region or the audio file region,may be stored in any location. Also, when the disk begins to be read, anappropriate means distinguishes whether or not the catalog playbackinformation exists. The means may define the file names, a region of adisk predetermined by a physical or logical address designated as aspace for storing catalog playback information, or informationindicating whether existence of a file in which the catalog playbackinformation is stored or not and a location of the file in the dataregion to be necessarily read such as a volume information region whenthe disk is read.

The catalog playback information may include the location of the imageinformation in which the catalog is recorded, a file identifier (ID) andan auto presentation information table in which is stored the locationof the catalog to be played back corresponding to the predetermined timeaccording to real-time playback information of the audio obtained byreal-time playback of the audio.

In FIG. 2, the file ID can recognize a file in which the catalogplayback information is recorded. A catalog CPGC number indicates thenumber corresponding to a common catalog and a title catalog in theimage information region in which the catalog is recorded. A catalogpointer indicates the location on the disk of a file or a CPGC in whichthe catalog is recorded.

Also, each corresponding auto presentation information table hasplayback time information capable of appropriately and automaticallyplaying back the catalog, using the real-time playback informationobtained from the audio data while each recorded title is played back,and information on the playback location of the catalog, so that theauto presentation information table has information on the still pictureand the sub-picture to be played back within catalogs when a user hasnot input commands while one title is played back.

In FIG. 3, a signal read from an optical disk (DVD-ROM) 210 isdemodulated and decoded to a digital signal through a DVD playbacksignal processing unit 220 according to the physical specification ofthe DVD-ROM, to provide the restored signal to a buffer memory 250.

The restored digital signal is divided into audio data and video dataunder the control of a system controller 240 and the audio data of theDVD-Audio specification as an example is written in an audio buffer 251,and video data of the DVD-Video specification as an example, i.e.,catalog data is written in a video buffer 252. At this time, the buffermemory 250 can use one memory space or an additional memory.

The catalog data stored in the buffer memory 250 is read in accordancewith a control signal generated by the system controller 240 and theread catalog data is restored to an image signal to be output. At thistime, the system controller 240 generates an appropriate control signalbased on control commands of a user through a remote controller, theauto presentation information table according to catalog playbackinformation, real-time playback information extracted from the audiodata, and navigation information of the catalog data, such that thecatalog data stored in the video buffer 252 to be played back is outputthrough the video decoder 270 as a video signal.

Meanwhile, the audio data of the DVD-Audio specification read from theaudio buffer 251 is provided to the audio decoder 260 and the providedaudio data is restored to an audio signal to be output.

Here, the video decoder 270 represents a device restoring image dataproduced by the DVD-Video specification to an initial image andinformation added to the image. The apparatus for playing back theDVD-Video has already been produced and such an apparatus is well-knownto a person skilled in the art. Also, the audio decoder 260 restores theaudio data including the encoded audio data coded by linear pulse codedmodulation (linear PCM) or another predetermined manner, managementinformation for managing the audio data and real-time playbackinformation to initial audio and additional information. The systemcontroller 240 and a servo unit 230 control the system to appropriatelyoperate using the control commands from a user and various controlsignals obtained by playback signals.

Subsequently, a playback operation will be described in view of thevideo buffer 252 writing and reading catalog data, as shown in FIG. 3.

The playback apparatus shown in FIG. 3 must store information on thecommon catalog and the title catalog in the video buffer 252, before apredetermined audio title is played back. If not, desired cataloginformation cannot be played back while the music is played back.

When either the common catalog or the title catalog is selected, the sumof the two items of catalog data should be smaller than the memorycapacity of the video buffer 252 for playing back the catalog. Referringto FIG. 1, assuming that the CPGC1 125 is the common catalog for theentire audio region, and the CPGC2 126 is the audio title 1, i.e., thetitle catalog 1 related to the first item of music, and the CPGC3 127 isthe title catalog 2 for the second item of music, and the CPGCn+1 128 isthe title catalog n for the nth item of music, the catalog informationrequired for playing back the music has the common catalog informationand the title catalog for the music to be played back.

Meanwhile, the amount of buffer memory of the playback apparatus playingback the DVD-Video is approximately 4 MB (megabytes). This functions asa time buffer for resolving an inconsistency between a transmissionspeed of data read from the disk such as a variable buffer rate and abit rate of audio played back in real-time or image information.

The conventional buffer must be used to play back audio in real-time,and an additional memory must be used to play back the catalog. Thus,assuming that a memory of 16 MB is the entire buffer memory 250 when onememory is used, the memory size of the video buffer 252 for playing backthe catalog is 12 MB. For instance, when the amount of the data of thecommon catalog is 5 MB, the amount of the title catalog cannot exceed 7MB.

Also, the title catalog information for each title may not exist. Whenthe sum of the entire catalog data is smaller than the predeterminedmemory capacity of the video buffer 252, the catalog is not separatelyclassified into the common catalog and the title catalog, and thecatalog information on all music can be recorded in the common catalog.

When the optical disk 210 is played back initially, the systemcontroller 240 reads volume information of the optical disk 210, thefile system, and information on the CMG and AMG. As described above, theCPGC data in which the catalog information exists is read from the videobuffer 252 according to the catalog playback information stored in theAMG region 131 or in a predetermined file. When required catalog data isread, the audio information is read to provide the read audioinformation to the audio decoder 260 through the audio buffer 251, andthe audio information is converted into an audio signal and theconverted audio signal is output through the audio decoder 260.

Meanwhile, if a user selects the catalog, i.e., if the user inputscommands for a desired catalog through an input unit such as a remotecontroller for controlling the playback apparatus, the predeterminedcatalog data stored in the video buffer 252 corresponding to the inputcommands are provided to the decoder 270.

If the user does not input commands for playing back the predeterminedcatalog, i.e., the user does not input the commands for a predeterminedtime, or the user sets an auto presentation mode, the contents stored inthe video buffer 252 are output through the video decoder 270 to outputan image of the predetermined catalog using the information in the autopresentation information table.

At this time, the catalog data includes still pictures for thebackgrounds and sub-pictures for transferring characters and the stillpictures and the sub-pictures are controlled using the navigationinformation defined by the DVD-Video specification. Thus, compared tothe case of using only still pictures, 32 sub-pictures can be selectedfrom the DVD-Video, which supports multiple languages.

Also, if the still picture includes character information, the increasein the resolution of the still picture is required for playing back thecharacter information to distinct pictures, so that the compressionratio cannot be increased, and the background image and the characterinformation are divided, so that the compression ratio for thebackground is increased, and characters can effectively be coded using acompression method for effectively compressing characters defined by theDVD-Video.

Further, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a recording/reproducing apparatusfor implementing the present invention. The function of therecording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing AV(audio/video) data including the catalog information using the DVD-ROM210 is largely divided into recording and reproduction. A description ofthe playback aspect of the embodiment has already been explained abovein the context of the playback apparatus shown in FIG. 3. The DVDplayback processor 220 (shown in FIG. 3) is encompassed in a digitalsignal processor 320, the audio and video decoders 260, 270 (shown inFIG. 3) are encompassed in the AV codec and/or host interface 310, theservo unit 230 (shown in FIG. 3) is encompassed in a servo 350, and thesystem controller 240 (shown in FIG. 3) is encompassed in a systemcontroller 360.

During recording, the A/V codec and/or a host interface 310compression-codes an externally applied A/V signal which includes theaudio data, the catalog information, and the catalog playbackinformation, according to a predetermined compression scheme andsupplies size information for the compressed data. The digital signalprocessor (DSP) 320 receives the compressed A/V data supplied from theAV codec and/or the host interface 310, adds additional data for errorcorrection code (ECC) processing thereto, and performs modulation usinga predetermined modulation scheme. A radio frequency amplifier (RF AMP)330 converts the modulated data from the DSP into a radio frequency (RF)signal. Then, a pickup 340 records the RF signal supplied from the RFAMP 330 on the DVD-ROM 210 mounted on a turn table of the pickup 340 ina manner as shown in FIG. 1. A servo unit 350 receives informationnecessary for servo control from a system controller 360 and stablyperforms a servo function for the mounted disk. As a result, the volume100, which includes the volume and file system 120, the audio region130, and the other file region 140 are recorded by the pickup 340 on theDVD-ROM 210.

During playback of information data stored on the disk, the pickup 340picks up the optical signal from the disk having the information data,such as the audio data, the catalog information, and the catalogplayback information, stored therein, and the information data isextracted from the optical signal. The RF AMP 330 converts the opticalsignal into an RF signal, and extracts the servo signal for performing aservo function, and modulated data. The DSP 320 demodulates themodulated data supplied from the RF AMP 330 corresponding to themodulation scheme used during modulation, performs an ECC process tocorrect errors, and eliminates added data. The servo unit 350 receivesinformation necessary for servo control from the RF AMP 330 and thesystem controller 360, and stably performs the servo function. The AVcodec and/or the host interface 110 decodes the compressed A/V datasupplied from the DSP 320 to output an A/V signal. The system controller360 controls the overall system for reproducing and recording theinformation data from and on the disk mounted on the turn table of thepickup 340.

The system controller 360 and the DSP 320 handle processing the dataduring recording and reproduction, including performing linking schemesin connection with recording and reproducing as well as performinglinking schemes when processing defective areas on the media duringrecording and reproducing.

As described above, the catalog function is realized using the DVD-Videospecification, to thereby edit the catalog for DVD-Audio using anediting system for the DVD-Video, and the playback apparatus for playingback the catalog of the DVD-Audio also plays back the DVD-Video, tothereby minimize additional circuits.

Also, according to the present invention, the predetermined DVD-Videospecification is used, so that the character information of the catalogis not processed as the still picture but as the sub-picture, to therebyenable multiple language display.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention have been shownand described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of reproducing data from a storage medium, the method comprising: reading image playback information corresponding to audio data from an audio area in which the audio data is stored, the image playback information comprising location information of corresponding image information; reading image information related to the audio data from the storage medium; buffering the read image information using the image playback information, before reproducing the audio data; and outputting the image information together with the audio data, wherein the image information includes common image data for information commonly applied for the entire audio data recorded on the storage medium and title image data having information corresponding to each distinct item of the audio data.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage medium has an audio data recording region in which the audio data is recorded and an image information region in which the image information is recorded.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection of a user; and wherein the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading and outputting the buffered image information according to the selection of the user.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reading of the image information further comprises preferentially reading the image information selected by the user, and otherwise reading the image information satisfying a predetermined condition.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the user not making the selection of the image information for a predetermined amount of time, and setting a image auto presentation mode.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the image playback information further includes a file identifier and an auto presentation information table determining a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real-time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real-time playing back.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the image information read from the buffer comprises common image information which is read according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: the image information includes a still picture for a background image, a sub-picture for a caption, and navigation information for controlling the still picture and the sub-picture; and the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading and outputting the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer using the navigation information.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the image playback information includes information on a location of an image information region on the storage medium in which the still picture, sub-picture and navigation information are recorded.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the image playback information further includes a file identifier and an auto presentation information table determining a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real-time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real-time playing back.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving a selection of a user; and wherein the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer according to the selection of the user.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the reading and outputting comprises reading and outputting the still picture and the sub-picture selected by the user, and otherwise reading and outputting the still picture and the sub-picture satisfying a predetermined condition.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the user not making the selection of the still picture and the sub-picture for a predetermined amount of time, and setting a image auto presentation mode.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: reading, from the second region, the image playback information connecting the audio data and the buffered image information while reading the audio data from the storage medium; and wherein the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading and outputting the image information from the buffer based upon the read image playback information.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein: the image playback information comprises an auto presentation information table determining the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with the image playback information obtained from the audio data; and the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading and outputting the audio data from the storage medium and the image information from the buffer in accordance with the auto presentation information table.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the image playback information comprises a file identifier and the auto presentation information table determines a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real-time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real-time playing back.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the reading and outputting of the buffered image information comprises reading and outputting the image information from the buffer according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 19. A method of transferring encoded audio data with respect to a first region on a storage medium, the method comprising: transferring audio data with respect to a first region and image information with respect to a second region of the storage medium other than the first region; buffering the image information; reading the audio data and image playback information from the first region of the storage medium while the image information is read from a buffer according to the read image playback information; and outputting the image information together with the audio data, wherein the image information comprises a plurality of program chains, one of the program chains corresponding to a common image for the first region and the other program chains corresponding to each of a plurality of audio titles recorded in the first region, and each of the program chains includes still picture and/or video data and navigation information for controlling the display of the still picture and/or video data.
 20. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus for use with a storage medium comprising a first area to store audio data, a second area to store image information related to the audio data, and image management area having management information on the image information, the apparatus comprising: a video decoder to decode the image information comprising a still picture relating to the audio data; an audio decoder to decode the audio data; a buffer to store the image information using the image playback information, before reproducing the audio data; and a controller to control such that the image information is reproduced, during reproduction of the audio data according to the image playback information, wherein the image playback information comprises information on a location of the image information which is outputted together with the audio data.
 21. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the controller further receives a selection of a user and reads the image information from the buffer according to the selection of the user.
 22. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 21, wherein the controller further preferentially reads the image information selected by the user, and otherwise reads the image information satisfying a predetermined condition.
 23. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 22, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the user not making the selection of the image information for a predetermined amount of time, and setting a image auto presentation mode.
 24. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image information includes common image data for information commonly applied for the entire audio data recorded on the storage medium and title image data having information corresponding to each distinct item of the audio data.
 25. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 24, wherein the image playback information further includes a file identifier and an auto presentation information table determining a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real time playing back.
 26. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the read the image information read from the buffer comprises common image information which the controller reads according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 27. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image information includes a still picture for a background image, a sub-picture for a caption, and navigation information for controlling the still picture and the sub-picture, wherein the controller reads and decodes the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer using the navigation information.
 28. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 27, wherein the image playback information includes information on a location of an image information region on the storage medium in which the still picture, sub-picture and navigation information are recorded.
 29. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 28, wherein the image playback information further includes a file identifier and an auto presentation information table determining a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real time playing back.
 30. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 29, wherein the controller reads the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 31. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 27, wherein the controller further receives a selection of a user, and reads the still picture and the sub-picture from the buffer according to the selection of the user.
 32. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 31, wherein the controller further preferentially reads the still picture and the sub-picture selected by the user, and otherwise reads the still picture and the sub-picture satisfying a predetermined condition.
 33. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 32, wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of the user not making the selection of the still picture and the sub-picture for a predetermined amount of time, and setting a image auto presentation mode.
 34. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the controller further reads from the second region the image playback information connecting the audio data and the buffered image information while reading the audio data from the second region, and reads and decodes the image information from the buffer based upon the read image playback information.
 35. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 34, wherein: the image playback information comprises an auto presentation information table determining the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with the image playback information obtained from the audio data; and the controller reads the audio data from the storage medium and the image information from the buffer in accordance with the auto presentation information table.
 36. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 35, wherein the image playback information comprises a file identifier and the auto presentation information table determines a location of the image information to be played back corresponding to a predetermined time in accordance with real time playback information of audio obtained from the audio data during real time playing back.
 37. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus of claim 36, wherein the controller reads the image information from the buffer according to a predetermined sequence stored in the auto presentation information table.
 38. A recording and/or reproducing apparatus which transfers encoded audio data with respect to a first region on a storage medium, the apparatus comprising: a buffer to store image information read from the storage medium, the image information located in a second region of the storage medium different from a first region of the storage medium that stores audio data; and a controller to control the audio data and image playback information to be read from the first region of the storage medium while the image information is read from the buffer according to the read image playback information, wherein the image information comprises a plurality of program chains, one of the program chains corresponding to a common image for the first region and the other program chains corresponding to each of a plurality of audio titles recorded in the first region, and each of the program chains includes still picture and/or video data and navigation information for controlling the display of the still picture and/or video data, and wherein the image playback information comprises information on a location of the image information which is outputted together with the audio data. 